Seasonal influence on the essential oil production of Nectandra megapotamica (Spreng.) Mez

This study evaluated the seasonal influence on the yield and chemical composition of the essential oil (EO) of Nectandra megapotamica. Fresh young (YL) and old leaves (OL) obtained from three trees in each season (Nov/2010 to Sep/2011) collected in Santa Maria-RS were hydrodistilled in triplicate. The chemical composition was determined by the gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and the yield on dry basis was evaluated by two-way ANOVA (seasons, development stage). Spring (Sp) and summer (Su) showed higher average incomes (0.45 and 0.33%), which occurred when flowering, fru...